The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is delighted to announce that Dr. Jeremy Balsbaugh has been appointed as the Director of the Center for Open Research Resources & Equipment (COR²E). He will retain his position as the Director of the Proteomics & Metabolomics Facility (PMF). He was formerly Associate Director of COR²E under previous Director Dr. Dan Schwartz.
Dr. Balsbaugh’s graduate and post-doctoral training in mass spectrometry (MS) with world leaders in proteomics provided the foundation needed to establish the first proteomics and metabolomics-focused core facility at UConn in 2017. Under his leadership, PMF grew from a facility with no userbase and only a single refurbished mass spectrometer into a thriving analytical laboratory featuring five advanced, high-resolution mass spectrometers. The PMF directly supports the research of over 130 faculty members at UConn and UConn Health, plus an additional 40 faculty members at external research institutions.
Since 2017, Dr. Balsbaugh and PMF have directly supported more than 225 grant and fellowship submissions resulting in tens of millions of dollars in acquired research funds. Sustained facility growth in PMF over the last six years resulted in the addition of two talented full-time scientists to support PMF operations. Dr. Jen Liddle was hired in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Sonam Tamrakar was hired from Michigan State University in January 2024.
In 2022, Dr. Balsbaugh’s role expanded to include the Associate Director of COR²E, where he spearheaded several initiatives including the 2023 Core Incentive Plan Program to provide faculty with OVPR funding to utilize core facility technologies for the first time. Dr. Balsbaugh maintains membership and participates in MS and core facility-centric national organizations and events to remain at the forefront of new analytical technologies and management strategies for core facilities. His deep knowledge of developing and supporting core facilities is invaluable as UConn's research enterprise continues to focus on growth.
We look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Balsbaugh and grow the Center. Please join UConn Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Pamir Alpay and OVPR Executive Director for Operations Julie Schwager in congratulating Dr. Balsbaugh on this extremely well-deserved new position!
For more information, contact: Matthew Engelhardt at matthew.engelhardt@uconn.edu